The Death of Self-Education, the Death of the West

Without a major autodidactic push to learn the classic works that formed our civilization, the West’s storehouse of knowledge is in serious danger of becoming nothing more than an artifact…

In one of my favorite scenes from the movie Seven, Morgan Freeman’s character gets a guard to let him into a library late at night so he can conduct research. While the five members of the library’s night staff are sitting around a desk playing cards he says to them:

Gentlemen, gentlemen… I’ll never understand. All these books, a world of knowledge at your fingertips. What do you do? You play poker all night.

This scene might serve as a fitting summary of our current culture. At least, that’s the implication in a recent Baffler essay titled “The Death of the Autodidact.” In it, the author Ravi Mangla writes:

After all, herein lies one of the more confounding paradoxes of our digital era: It is easier than ever to self-educate to a high standard, yet the number of autodidacts (by which I mean self-directed learners with limited formal schooling or vocational training) at the top of their chosen fields is dwindling faster than the stock of Atlas Shrugged hardcovers at the Reagan Library gift shop.

So we are confronted with the situation of a rise in the potential for self-education—in the form of increased access to books, internet resources, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), etc.—with a decline in autodidacts. Why is that?

Well, human nature seems to teach us that most people are only motivated to do something if there’s a tangible reward, and there’s not much reward for self-education in our institutionalized, unmeritocratic society. (How our society got to this point is another question that requires more reflection.)

In school, students are not rewarded based on how deeply they have assimilated knowledge, and how much this knowledge has improved their character. Rather, they are rewarded for how well they have played the game and jumped through the hoops—they are rewarded based on how high their GPAs are, how many Advanced Placement classes they have taken, and how many extracurricular activities they have accumulated.

With very few exceptions, your ticket onto a successful career path is not your demonstrated knowledge, ability, and potential; it’s how high of a college degree you have, and even more importantly, where you got that degree. As Mangla pointed out, in spite of Silicon Valley’s supposed predilection for autodidacts, their firms “are the least pliant in their credentialing requirements… seventy-seven percent of postings indicated an educational status. Of those positions, ninety-eight percent requested either a bachelor’s or master’s degree.”

Unfortunately, all of this bodes poorly for American society and Western Civilization. You see, schools today simply aren’t teaching students about the books and ideas that constituted the bulk of education for most of the West’s history, and that inspired the creation of America. And it’s difficult to think that our monolithic education system will dramatically change course on curricular ethos in the near future. And for the adults who are now out of school, reading Plato, Aristotle, Boethius, and Dante in their spare time probably isn’t going to immediately put them into a higher income bracket, and it’s not going to help them make more friends. In fact, it would probably make them feel more lonely.

But without a major autodidactic push to learn the classic works that formed our civilization, I fear that the West’s storehouse of knowledge is in serious danger of becoming nothing more than an artifact—even if you still happen to be able to access it online in PDF form.

The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now.

The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Daniel Lattier is the Vice President of Intellectual Takeout. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and Catholic Studies from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Ok, i have a confession. Along the lines of Dr. Lattier’s vision i purchased and downloaded a ‘Good’ Course (lets say) that was a lecture series on Augustinej’s ‘City of God’. (Speaking of confession they also offer one on that!) So I’m trying… Kinda…

I am self educated and continue to be at the age of 72. I left school at the age of 15 (English Secondary Modern-11+ failure) However, on reflection my life story is a spiritual journey and discovery that could never have come out of higher education. Why? Because it arises out of innate potential and vocational calling where alienation and separation from the group follows a pattern of initiation. Studies: Dreams, myth, symbols, Jungian Psychology, Native American, Poetry, Folklore.

Raising two myself. What a JOY! To see my children freely pursue goodnes, truth, and beauty, in a quest for sanctity leaves me in awe. They study languages, classical music, history, theology, simply for the love of it and the greater glory of God. It’s a completely natural, uninhibited process. I just keep buying books!

I do feel completely inadequate to provide them with the “step up” they will need in their chosen pursuits as young adults, however, given that their interests & talents are not in my realm of experience. It is extremely difficult to find people willing to mentor gifted minds as everyone seems so trapped in the system mentality of hoop jumping, no matter how ridiculous they all recognize it to be.

My daughter at 17 refuses to start her life in $80K+ of college debt as she knows that alone will compromise her ability to be a fully dedicated wife and mother. Prayers appreciated as she considers her next steps.

The Imaginative Conservative is sponsored by The Free Enterprise Institute (a U.S. 501(c)3 tax exempt organization). Your donation to the Institute in support of The Imaginative Conservative is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. (Gifts may be made online or by check mailed to the Institute at 9600 Long Point Rd., Suite 300, Houston, TX, 77055.)